By Pankaj Yadav
New Delhi, July 22 (ANI): Debate and deliberations in parliament reached a new low on Tuesday when BJP and other opposition Members of Parliament trooped into the Well of the Lok Sabha, waving bundles of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 currency notes, and claimed that they had been paid off by the Samajwadi Party to abstain from this evening's trust vote.

Proceedings in the Lower House were brought to a complete standstill and mikes were switched off, as pandemonium reigned in the wake of this disclosure.

The live coverage of the Lok Sabha was momentarily stopped.  

Treasury and Opposition members traded charges and counter-charges, and it is understood that voting on the UPA Government's confidence motion will be delayed, and may not start at the scheduled time of 6 p.m. It was also being rumoured that the voting may not be held at all today, and could be postponed till Wednesday.

Talking to media persons outside Parliament, Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani confirmed that three BJP MP's - two from Madhya Pradesh and one from Rajasthan, had informed him of the alleged cash transaction or buyout.

He said that the BJP MP's from Madhya Pradesh were (1) Ashok Chhaviram Argal, 39, representing the Morena (SC) constituency, (2) Faggan Singh Kulaste, 48, representing the Mandla (ST) constituency and the third was Mahaveer Bhagora, 61, representing the Salumber (SC) constituency in Rajasthan.

Advani said that these three MPs had alleged that they had been offered around Rs.1 crore in advance and they were told that the balance amount of Rupees nine crores after they had abstained from the voting process.

Advani further went on to say that these MPs' approached one of the television channels to conduct a sting operation during the process of transaction

Advani refused to reveal the identity of the person behind the transaction, saying that he would reveal it on the floor of the House.

Reacting to the charge, Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Yadav said: " The money belongs to the BJP." He demanded that a narco analysis test be conducted on all three parliamentarians.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Prithviraj Chavan, said that an all-party meeting has been convened to discuss this latest charge, while the Deputy Leader of the RJD in the Lok Sabha, Devendra Prasad Yadav said that the matter should be thoroughly investigated before any final conclusions were drawn.

BJP President Rajnath Singh said this episode has shamed the prestige and importance of the parliament system in India, and replying to a question, said that if the Speaker wanted to extend the duration of this special session, the BJP and the NDA is ready for it.

CPI-M leader Brinda Karat said: "This incident is a blot on the parliamentary system in India, and this indicates how low this government can go to stay in power."

Bribery issue will be investigated, says Somnath Chatterjee 

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has today said that he would get the issue of money being offered to three BJP MPs, allegedly by the Samajwadi Party, investigated. 

A sting operation was conducted by a television channel, which handed over the tapes to the Speaker.

The channel in question also said that what was on the tape was not conclusive.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other opposition MPs trooped into the Well of the Lok Sabha, claiming that they had been paid off by the Samajwadi Party to abstain from this evening's trust vote over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Proceedings in the Lower House were brought to a complete standstill in the wake of this disclosure.

Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani, while talking to reporters, stated that three BJP MP's, two from Madhya Pradesh and one from Rajasthan, had informed him of the alleged cash transaction or buyout.

Advani said that the BJP MP's from Madhya Pradesh were (1) Ashok Chhaviram Argal, 39, representing the Morena (SC) constituency, (2) Faggan Singh Kulaste, 48, representing the Mandla (ST) constituency and the third was Mahaveer Bhagora, 61, representing the Salumber (SC) constituency in Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, the Lower House has been adjourned till 6.30 PM, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would give a reply to the House.

The Speaker has stated that voting on the trust motion would be held at 7.15 PM.

Legal experts say role of Speaker limited in cash for vote scam probe

Legal experts today said that Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had a very limited role to play in ruling on the cash for vote scam that surfaced on Tuesday evening.

Speaking to a web site, noted lawyer Harish Salve said the three BJP MPs' - two from Madhya Pradesh Ashok Chhaviram Argal, 39, representing the Morena (SC) constituency and Faggan Singh Kulaste, 48, representing the Mandla (ST) constituency and Mahaveer Bhagora, 61, representing the Salumber (SC) constituency in Rajasthan - should have informed the police and lodged a formal complaint.

Describing bribery as a serious charge, salve further went on to say that the whole incident of the BJP charging the Samajwadi Party appeared to be a farce.

"Even if the MPs' wanted to display the money in the Parliament, they should approached the Speaker first. Moreover, these MPs' have made an allegation against the party and against an individual. Bribing an MP is a serious allegation," the website quoted Salve, as saying.

He said Chatterjee could not suspend the House or even order an inquiry before the trust vote.

Professor Ravi Varma Kumar was quoted by the rediff website as saying that the trust vote could not be postponed due to the BJP allegations.

He said that the three BJP MPs should approach the Privileges Committee for redressal, and added that in this instance, the Speaker could do nothing.

He said that what Chatterjee could do was to confiscate the money and bring the House under order. He could then have an all-party meeting to discuss the matter. (ANI)

BJP says it has credible proof of cash for vote scam

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today insisted that it had credible proof of their Members of Parliament receiving huge amounts of cash from the Samajwadi Party to abstain from Tuesday's trust vote.

Haren Pathak, the BJP MP from Gujarat, claimed that this was no cooked up story as alleged by the treasury benches, and added that the BJP possessed the evidence.

"We have got a recording of this money changing hands at the residence of Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh," said Pathak.

He said that the BJP had all the television footage of Amar Singh giving away the money to the three BJP MPS' at his Delhi residence.

Amar Singh rejects having a role in cash for vote scam

Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh on Tuesday strongly rebutted allegations that he had paid Rupees one crore each to three BJP MPS' in exchange for them abstaining from this evening's trust vote.

Addressing a packed news conference at his residence in the capital, Singh said that he has very sick for the last three days, and had not moved out of his house at all.

He further went onto say that former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh was at his house all this time, and there was no way he could have given this money to the BJP MPS' without being watched by the media which was crowding outside his house.

Expressing his deep anguish over the charge against him and another party leader Reoti Ranjan, Singh said the BJP leadership, including its Prime Minister designate L.K. Advani had no right to point fingers on this score at him, when their own party stalwarts had accepted and done the same in the recent past.

In the first instance, he said, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh had gone to the capital's Maurya Hotel to handover money to a politician given to him by Advani, and in the second instance, a bribe was given away by the BJP on July 2.

Referring to the three BJP MPs' -- two from Madhya Pradesh -- (1) Ashok Chhaviram Argal, 39, representing the Morena (SC) constituency, (2) Faggan Singh Kulaste, 48, representing the Mandla (ST) constituency and the third was Mahaveer Bhagora, 61, representing the Salumber (SC) constituency in Rajasthan, Amar Singh said: "Are these three MPs' so cheap that they can be bought off for Rupees one crore. These are all cooked up stories by these three MPs'. They are trying to trap me in an illegal manner. If they wanted to trap me, they should keep in mind my standing."

He further went on to say: "Are these three MPs' prostitutes. I am ready for any kind of probe. Why have they not gone to the police. My house is located in a key place in the city. Prove it that I gave this so called money away to these MPs". (ANI)